Railroad chair and plate.



M. SHELTON.

RAILROAD 01111111 AND PLATE.

APPLIUATION FILED DEO.12, 1910.

. Patented Mar.21,1911.

T FI IQ.

MARK SHELTON, OF WASHINGTON, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR- OF TWO-'II-IIBDS TO JOHN ISBELL, OF WASHINGTON, MISSOURI, AND E. P. NORTH, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

RAILROAD CHAIR AND PLATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 21, 1.911.

Application filed December 12, 1910. Serial No. 596,804.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARK SHELTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the county of Franklin and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Railroad Chairs and Plates, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to automatic chairs for the meeting end sections of railroad rails, and is also especially adapted for holding in place broken rails.

The invention consists of a combined chair and fish plate, the complete device consisting of two oppositely formed chairs, one right and the other left handed, together with looking springs carried by each chair and adapted to lock the plate of the other chair.

The invention also consists of the novel features hereinafter described, pointed out in the claims and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation. Fig. 2 is a plan view. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

In constructing the device I employ a chair as shown at 1, which chair is adapted to receive the base and web of an ordinary standard rail 2. The chair fits snugly to the rail upon one side, but has its inner face cut out as shown at 3 upon the opposite side. Extending parallel to the rail from and integral with the uncut side of the chair is a plate 4. This plate is in slidable contact with the rail web and may be of any desired length. The plate tapers gradually upon its outer face and adjacent its free end the outer face is provided with a plurality of vertically arranged, transverse notches Two chairs are employed each of which carries the plate 4:, and when said chairs are arranged upon adjacent end portions of meeting rails with the plates l extending toward the joint one of said plates will rest upon the inner face of the rails and the other plate upon the outer faces. As the chairs are moved together the plate of each chair will slide into the cut-out portion of the other chair, and as the plates are tapered the chairs will become wedged upon said plates as they are moved toward each other. To automatically lock the chairs in their relative positions with respect to each other springs 6 are secured upon the sides of the chairs having the cut-out portions, said springs extending in a direction away from the meeting ends of the rails, and the ends of these springs engage the notches 5 and prevent any accidental back movement of the chairs due to vibration or jar of the rails. It will be understood that as the plates 4 bridge the joint of the rails and rest upon opposite sides of the rails they not only connect them together but also brace them.

By means of this device a broken rail can be joined together and securely held in place, and without making it necessary to drill bolt openings in the rail web.

As previously stated the plates can be of any length and the parts may have any desired exterior configuration, the exact shape being more or less dependent upon the manner in which they are manufactured.

What I claim is:

1. A device of the kind described comprising a chair adapted to slidably fit the base and web of a rail, said chair being spaced from the rail web on one side and carrying upon the opposite side an integral plate adapted to lie parallel to the rail web, said chair receiving a similar plate upon the side spaced from the rail, said plates being transversely notched and springs carried by said chair to engage the notches of the plate received by it.

2. In a device of the kind described two oppositely placed chairs adapted to be slidably held upon'end portions of adjacent rails, each chair having an integral plate upon one side, and being spaced from the rail web upon the opposite side thereby permitting each chair to slide upon the plate carried by the other chair, said plates being notched, and means carried by said chairs for engaging the notches and preventing movement of the chairs away from each other.

3. In a device of the kind described two chairs, integral plates carried by said chairs and extending toward each other, the plate carried by one chair being adapted to entions, and springs carried by the chairs and gage a lull Web upon one slde and the plate adapted to engage sand notches.

ca rriee1 by the other chair engaging said M ARK SHELTON rall web upon the other slde, sald plates 7 tapering toward their free ends and being Witnesses: adapted to enter the sand chan's the plates JOHN F. GRENTMANN, havlng notches upon thelr taperlng end por- E. J. KoEsTER.

Gonies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

